Teamster truck drivers probably will strike 99 Cents Only Stores on Monday night, a top local union official said Friday, accusing the City of Commerce-based retailer of stalling in contract negotiations. Paul Kenny, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 630, had pressed the company for a final offer by Thursday. But in a terse e-mail response, 99 Cents Chief Executive Eric Schiffer said the union would have to wait until noon Monday.

Teamster truck drivers at 99 Cents Only Stores voted Tuesday night to authorize a strike after failing to get an initial contract with the City of Commerce- based discount merchant. A strike by the 65 union drivers, which would hit the retailer's 153 stores in Southern California at the peak of the holiday shopping season, could start any day, said Paul Kenny, secretary-treasurer of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 630.

Members of the Teamsters Union that represents Orange County Transit Authority bus drivers have voted to authorize a strike if current negotiations break down, union officials said Saturday. More than 500 members of Local 952, which represents 1,227 full- and part-time drivers, voted Friday and Saturday to authorize union leadership to call a strike, said Patrick Kelly, secretary-treasurer. He said the two sides aren't far apart on key issues of salary and working conditions.

A former federal prosecutor hired by the Teamsters to investigate union corruption quit with his team Thursday, accusing President James P. Hoffa of resisting the efforts. Hoffa rejected the accusations by Edwin H. Stier, who was hired nearly five years ago to run the union's internal anticrime program. Hoffa called the charges about the union's commitment to fighting organized crime "reckless and false allegations."

Union officials charged Monday that Costco Wholesale Corp. is violating state law by requiring employees to man tables soliciting signatures for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's workers' compensation reform initiative. In a letter to Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer, California officials of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters accused Costco of coercing its workers "to engage in political activity on behalf of an employer."

Talks aimed at ending the Southland supermarket strike abruptly broke off late Friday after the union offered what it called substantial concessions on health benefits. The proposal was rejected and both sides called off negotiations until after the New Year, a union leader said. In a second blow to the United Food and Commercial Workers, the Teamsters said its members would return to work Monday at warehouses owned by the three grocery chains in the dispute.

Supplies at Southland supermarkets appeared to be a mixed bag Friday, with some Ralphs stores boasting nearly full shelves even though Teamsters are now honoring United Food and Commercial Workers union picket lines at warehouses. Perishables such as fruit and vegetables were considerably scarcer at Vons and Albertsons, according to a spot-check of several stores.

The Teamsters' announcement that they will refuse to deliver to the grocery stores beginning a few days before Thanksgiving is a classic example of why unions lack public support (Nov. 25). Their disregard for the effects of their actions on others reinforces my perception of unions as groups of aloof, self-centered bullies. I have been asked to forgo convenience and choice for the last two months; now I am expected to accept a holiday food shortage for the purpose of gaining an attractive benefit package for grocery workers.

November 26, 2003 | James F. Peltz and Nancy Cleeland, Times Staff Writers

The Teamsters' support for striking grocery clerks created a delivery-truck bottleneck at warehouses in Southern California on Tuesday, but supermarket chains said they continued to ship goods to stores without major interruption. The Teamsters' action also didn't appear to have an immediate effect on shoppers buying groceries for Thanksgiving, though supplies varied from store to store. The three supermarket companies -- Safeway Inc., which owns Vons and Pavilions, Kroger Co.

Giving a boost to striking supermarket clerks, the Teamsters union Monday ordered its drivers and warehouse workers to honor picket lines at grocery distribution centers in Southern California, disrupting food deliveries during one of the busiest shopping weeks of the year.